North End narcotics raid nets 4 arrests, drugs

NEW BEDFORD — A drug raid at a North End apartment resulted in narcotics police arresting four people and seizing a significant amount of cash, crack cocaine and heroin.

NEW BEDFORD — A drug raid at a North End apartment resulted in narcotics police arresting four people and seizing a significant amount of cash, crack cocaine and heroin.

Hilda Martinez-Santiago, 19, of 1566 Acushnet Ave. was charged with trafficking in cocaine, distribution of a Class A drug and conspiracy.

Police charged three New Bedford men who were in the apartment during the raid Tuesday night with cocaine distribution and conspiracy: Edwin Garcia, 21; Javier Natal, 19, and Vic Natal, 19.

Detectives assigned to the New Bedford Police Department's Organized Crime Intelligence Bureau listed a 16-year-old relative of Martinez-Santiago as the main target in the search warrant they obtained for the second-floor apartment at 1566 Acushnet Ave., court records said.

Police broke through a barricaded door and searched the apartment, seizing 89 plastic corner bags of crack cocaine measuring a total of 22.8 grams, as well as 44 corner bags of heroin measuring 7.1 grams. Detectives also reported seizing more than $3,000 from the apartment, court records said.

Hilda Martinez-Santiago, who according to police was stopped by detectives while trying to flush narcotics down a toilet, reportedly admitted to police that a large portion of the drugs in the apartment belonged to her, court records said. She was held on $12,000 cash bail after arraignment Wednesday in New Bedford District Court.

Martinez-Santiago's 16-year-old relative was not in the apartment at the time of the raid. He remained at large Wednesday.

Meanwhile, a District Court judge on Wednesday assigned $1,000 cash bail for Garcia, $500 cash bail for Vic Natal and $5,000 cash bail for Javier Natal. They are scheduled to return to court next month.